A solar cell developed by researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has achieved a record 39.5% efficiency under 1-sun global illumination — the highest efficiency solar cell of any type, measured under the same conditions.
The accomplishment tops the previous record set by NREL researchers in 2020, when a 39.2% efficiency six-junction solar cell was developed using III-V materials.
The new cell could be useful for a variety of applications, Myle Steiner, a senior scientist in NREL’s High-Efficiency Crystalline Photovoltaics Group, said. That includes highly area-constrained applications or low-radiation space applications.
